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Places to stay in the Scottish Highlands: four of the best

Glencoe House, Glencoe, Argyll Built in 1896 as a summer retreat for Lord Strathcona, the Scottish founder of the Canadian Pacific Railway, this elegant Victorian mansion just above the village of Glencoe and below the Pap of Glencoe had been empty for two years when Roger Niemeyer and his wife, Judy Pate, bought it in 2011. They had moved to the area in 1999 and spent a decade looking for the perfect hotel project, which this proved to be. They opened in late summer 2012. It's a slightly unusual offering in that there are only seven suites and there is no restaurant, but each spacious room has its own firelit living and dining area (two also have terraces large enough to dine out on) and a well-stocked bar. So meals are served in your own private space, with the chef calling by to discuss the evening's five-course menu. Light lunches can be ordered during the day but it's also fun to walk into the village for a bite to eat. Behind the hotel is a 10-acre lake, which takes about half an hour to stroll around, or you can walk up the Pap and back in about five hours. One-bedroom suites from £320; dinner from £55 per person (01855-811179; glencoe-house.com
) Reader offer: A seven-day cruise through the Scottish Highlands and the Faroe Islands, including visits to Torshavn, Skye and Mull, costs from £509 per person. Includes six-nights' full-board. Follow this link for more information